On Monday, Student Body Vice President Dalia Calvillo talked with members of the president’s administrative cabinet about a potential Swipe Out Hunger program meant to combat food insecurity on campus.

In the first meeting of the summer semester for the cabinet, Calvillo said she reached out to California Polytechnic State University’s student body president about how they implemented a Swipe Out Hunger program on their campus.

“I’m going to meet with them soon to discuss the logistics and how they worked on the project,” Calvillo said.

Food insecurity on campus has a detrimental impact on college students. According to Health Affairs, it contributes to lower GPAs, reduces attendance and completion rates, and can cause the health and well-being of students to suffer as a result. 

The Swipe Out Hunger program, which SG leaders introduced as an initiative in January, would allow students to donate their unused prepaid food swipes to students in need.

Currently, when students do not use all of their dining hall swipes during a given period, the swipes expire and cannot be used in future semesters.

As for the Beyond Food Program FAU has in place, which provides students a three-day supply of canned foods, Calvillo said she spoke with Student Body President Pierce Kennamer about how they want to market utilities students need aside from canned foods.

“I asked for a list of goods we can collect and I will discuss this with our marketing director [Serena Bruno] to get these items up on our social media soon,” Calvillo said.

SG recently sent a survey on Instagram to get feedback from the student body on how they want the Swipe Out Hunger program to look to help students in need. To view the survey, click here.

Richard Pereira is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.